{"id":28800,"date":"2015-11-25T00:15:28","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T05:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=28800"},"modified":"2015-11-24T22:59:48","modified_gmt":"2015-11-25T03:59:48","slug":"thankful-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2015\/11\/25\/thankful-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Thankful Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-16629\" src=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv.jpg\" alt=\"psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv\" width=\"341\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv.jpg 341w, https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv-300x175.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 341px) 100vw, 341px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">My open hands receive blessings You pour out on me<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">Your tender care restores my soul<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">Your faithfulness endures, as mercy covers all my sin<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">Your perfect love has made me whole<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">Beyond the words I\u2019m searching for<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">I long to give You something more<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>Here\u2019s my thankful heart, thankful heart<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>Offered up in gratitude for all You\u2019ve done for me<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>Here\u2019s my thankful heart, thankful heart<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>Offered up in praise to You<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">I\u2019m unworthy of the gift of Your unfailing love<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">But You embrace me as I am<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">You provide my needs, and raise a harvest from the seeds I sow in vain<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">I bless Your Name<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">Beyond the words I\u2019m searching for<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">I long to give You so much more<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">From the raising of the sun<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">\u2018Til it\u2019s going down<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">The name of the Lord be praised<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9i6Sbsh1tG8?rel=0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Written by <em>Gary Forsythe<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">* \u00a0~ \u00a0\u2665 \u00a0~ \u00a0\u271e \u00a0~ \u00a0\u2665 \u00a0~ \u00a0*<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We can offer up our thankful hearts to our ABBA Father at any time; while<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>taking a walk along a path outside<\/li>\n<li>singing praises with our church family<\/li>\n<li>raking leaves (or shoveling snow!)<\/li>\n<li>shopping for our family\u2019s groceries<\/li>\n<li>sharing our Thanksgiving meal with those who don\u2019t have close family<\/li>\n<li>getting our tasks at work accomplished<\/li>\n<li>driving home\u2026and being held up by traffic<\/li>\n<li>sitting in His presence during our \u2018quiet time\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The vital point is THAT we DO give praise to Him out of the abundance of our thankful hearts!!!<\/p>\n<p>Listening to this sweet song, this is my oh-so-very-favorite part:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>Beyond the words I\u2019m searching for I long to give You so much more\u2026.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>How about you\u2026do you ever find yourself exclaiming similar thoughts to God? \u00a0Oh, I do! \u00a0So often I am simply without adequate words to tell God all that is in my heart! (As if He does not already know!!!) \u00a0But I am encouraged that He wants us (you and me!) to come to Him with all that is in our little hearts\u2026what a kind, compassionate, loving Father!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to You!<br \/>\nPsalm 102:1<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out Your heart before Him;<br \/>\nGod is a refuge for us. \u00a0Selah<br \/>\nPsalm 62:8<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u2026Unto You will I sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.<br \/>\nMy lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You,<br \/>\nAnd my inner being, which You have redeemed.<br \/>\nMy tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long\u2026.<br \/>\nPsalms 71:22-24<\/p>\n<p>A big key to heartfelt praise and thanksgiving is to recognize where we were before God saved us through His grace and love. \u00a0Truly we were in a desperate situation. You could not save yourself from God\u2019s righteous judgment. \u00a0But God sent His Son, to save you\u2014to save all mankind!\u2014by His grace. \u00a0Because now you have experienced His great love and grace, you delight in Him and His great salvation and you can\u2019t help but sing for joy! \u00a0May I encourage you, friends, to never hesitate\u2026never hold back\u2026never deny yourself the joy of singing praises to our Almighty God!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;<br \/>\nPraise is becoming to the upright.<br \/>\nGive thanks to the Lord with the lyre;<br \/>\nSing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.<br \/>\nSing to Him a new song;<br \/>\nPlay skillfully with a shout of joy.<br \/>\nFor the word of the Lord is upright,<br \/>\nAnd all His work is done in faithfulness.<br \/>\nHe loves righteousness and justice;<br \/>\nThe earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.<br \/>\nPsalms 33:1-5<\/p>\n<p>While studying through Psalm 33,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/biblehub.com\/commentaries\/mhc\/psalms\/33.htm\" target=\"_blank\">I read Matthew Henry\u2019s Commentary<\/a>. \u00a0Here is a portion of what he wrote, \u201cWhat a pity it is that this earth, which is so full of God\u2019s goodness &lt;verse 5&gt;, should be so empty of His praises, and that of the multitudes that live upon His bounty there are so few that live to His glory!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I hope that will not be said of us. As God\u2019s \u201crighteous ones,\u201d let\u2019s be all about offering up our thankful hearts through our praise and songs of joy. \u00a0Our lives are the proof that He delivers our souls from death. Our response should be to praise Him with thankful hearts.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that line of this song that I shared I just love so much\u2014<em><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Beyond the words I\u2019m searching for I long to give You so much more<\/span>\u2014<\/em>perhaps the words of the psalmist in Psalm 138 can help to express them. \u00a0These are my prayer; maybe yours, too.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">I give You thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;<br \/>\nI will sing Your praises before the gods.<br \/>\nI bow before Your holy Temple as I worship.<br \/>\nI praise Your name for Your unfailing love and faithfulness;<br \/>\nFor Your promises are backed<br \/>\nby all the honor of Your name.<br \/>\nAs soon as I pray, You answer me;<br \/>\nYou encourage me by giving me strength.<br \/>\nEvery king in all the earth will thank You, Lord,<br \/>\nfor all of them will hear Your words.<br \/>\nYes, they will sing about the Lord\u2019s ways,<br \/>\nfor the glory of the Lord is very great.<br \/>\nThough the Lord is great, He cares for the humble,<br \/>\nbut He keeps His distance from the proud.<br \/>\nThough I am surrounded by troubles,<br \/>\nYou will protect me from the anger of my enemies.<br \/>\nYou reach out Your hand,<br \/>\nand the power of Your right hand saves me.<br \/>\nThe Lord will work out His plans for my life\u2014<br \/>\nfor Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.<br \/>\nDon\u2019t abandon me, for You made me.<br \/>\nPsalm 138 NLT<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My open hands receive blessings You pour out on me Your tender care restores my soul Your faithfulness endures, as mercy covers all my sin Your perfect love has made me whole Beyond the words I\u2019m searching for I long to give You something more Here\u2019s my thankful heart, thankful heart Offered up in gratitude [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":16629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4937],"tags":[7811,235,7810,1287,425,7875,1999,7808,7787,7874,7809,7813,5490,4114,7873,7812,1058,7796],"class_list":["post-28800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psalms-hymns-and-spiritual-songs","tag-a-thankful-heart","tag-coleen-hayden","tag-gary-forsythe","tag-gch","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-give-god-praise","tag-gratitude","tag-heres-my-thankful-heart","tag-in-everything-give-thanks","tag-matthew-henry-commentary","tag-praise-to-god-through-thanksgiving","tag-psalm-1031","tag-psalm-138","tag-psalm-33","tag-psalm-331-5","tag-psalms-91-2","tag-thankfulness","tag-thanks-giving","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-7uw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28800"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28811,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28800\/revisions\/28811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}